One of my good friends is a big fan of the actor Al Pacino.
Last year was his 60th birthday, so in December 2022 I booked tickets for the two of us and another friend to see him in person at a live ‘in conversation’ event in London.
It cost £485 and was supposed to take place in April 2023, but we were told shortly beforehand that it was cancelled because Pacino had a “schedule change”.
We were waiting to see if it would be rescheduled, but it wasn’t. I contacted the company that organized the event, An Experience With, to request a refund.
Empty Seats: Pacino’s event didn’t happen, and the company that put it on keeps telling TG that he needs to wait longer to get his money back
It’s been almost 15 months since the event was cancelled and I still don’t have my money. The company has given several excuses.
At one point, I was told I had to wait 90 days before requesting a refund. On another occasion, I was told I should file a dispute with my bank as that would be the “quickest resolution.” They also said they couldn’t refund my money due to issues with “funds held in the U.S.”
I have seen some worrying things about the company online and am worried that I may never receive my £485.
I have also tried Paypal, which I used to pay for the tickets, and Eventbrite, the website that sold them, but with no luck. Can you help me? TG, Bedfordshire
Helen Crane, consumer rights campaigner at This is Money, replies: It would have been the best birthday present ever: a chance for your friend to see his favorite actor in person, talking about his life and career.
You paid just over £485 for the tickets and chose to pay via Paypal because it would allow you to split the cost into three monthly payments.
Unfortunately, you were contacted before the event to say that it would not take place because Al Pacino had a conflict with his newspaper. You no doubt thought it was all out of place.
But you still wanted to give your friend a birthday surprise, even if it was late, so you waited to see if it would be rescheduled.
By June you still hadn’t heard back, so you emailed the organizer to request a refund.
Who are An Experience With? I did some research on this company and what I found was a story almost worthy of a Pacino movie.
On her Instagram page, she says she hosts “World-class events with the world’s biggest celebrities. Making dreams come true!”
His social media accounts are filled with images of megastars like Pacino, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Host gala events where fans like you can have an audience with their heroes, along with great food and the chance to bid on memorabilia at auction.
Most of these events have already taken place and there are videos of the glitzy soirees on Facebook and Instagram to prove it, but it seems there was something of a lull last year.
Instead of recent events, some of the recent posts recall events that happened in 2019.
And while the company is always announcing “exciting new things coming soon” and “possible new dates,” there never seem to be any tickets available for reservation. Something just doesn’t seem quite right to me.
While many of the comments are from people talking about how much fun they had watching their heroes in years past, there are others from upset customers complaining that, like you, the events they bought tickets for in 2023 had been cancelled and that when they asked for a refund they were met with silence or were given credits they couldn’t use.
And what happened in 2023? After doing some digging, I discovered that in August last year, the company’s founder, Stephen Oleksewycz, a former DJ and Huddersfield Town footballer, was jailed on fraud charges.
Stephen Oleksewycz, pictured at a past event with Mel Gibson before his prison sentence
He was found guilty of failing to pay vendors involved in promoting a one-night stand with MMA star Conor McGregor in 2017.
Event organisers revealed they had not received any payment just 24 hours before 5,000 fans were due to attend the live show in Manchester.
The court also found that he had concealed his bankruptcy from suppliers, including by using false documentation. He was ordered to pay back £69,000 to victims.
All the while, he posted pictures of himself online alongside stars like Mike Tyson, Mel Gibson and Robert De Niro.
Oleksewycz was released in March this year and started a podcast called ‘Inspire me’, telling his side of the story in the first episode.
An Experience With says on social media that it will relaunch as ‘An Experience With 2.0’ and is currently organising several events for the future, although it has not revealed what they are.
So what does all this mean for your tickets? I contacted An Experience With and they said they had recently offered me a credit note, which they were entitled to do under the ticket terms and conditions.
However, I would say that the 15-month delay, as well as the fact that there are currently no events to book with the credit, means that cash should be offered.
I was told in an email: ‘There have been some unforeseen circumstances which have resulted in a gap in live events, however we do have some important events coming up which the credit could have been used for.’
The anonymous person who responded also said that he had been kept informed on the status of the event, which again I disagree with.
You always had to look up information on An Experience With, and when you did, you were told to wait a little longer. This put you over PayPal’s 180-day limit for disputing a transaction.
An Experience With also said that you were recently sent a form where you could get a refund directly from Eventbrite. However, you say you did not receive it.
The email I received from the company continued: ‘We have produced over 45 successful events since 2012 and made thousands of dreams come true.
‘We had unfortunate problems with Al Pacino’s dates that are now coming to an end.
‘We are now fully active on our social media and preparing to announce new dates with big names.
‘Once these dates are announced, we will be happy to provide (TG) with credit and also some add-ons to their evening to make up for the delay in their refund.’
You weren’t sure you could trust this, as you’d heard such promises from the company before, and I think your gut feeling is absolutely right.
In the meantime I also turned to Paypal, which you used as a payment method for the tickets.
Disputed: But Paypal did not offer a refund to TG as the 180 day time limit had passed
You were previously denied a refund as the payment processor will only accept disputes made within 180 days of the original payment being made.
You found out the event was cancelled months after you booked it, and then An Experience With told you to wait 90 days because they would reschedule, so you missed this deadline.
If you had paid for the tickets by credit card, you could have made a claim under Section 75, but the money was channelled through Paypal, those protections no longer apply.
You may have been able to initiate a chargeback with your bank, but this is also subject to a 120-day time limit.
I have contacted PayPal to explain the situation and I am very pleased to say that they have offered to refund me the £485 as a gesture of goodwill.
I contacted Eventbrite but did not get a response.
It’s not exactly Justice for All, but I’m glad you got your money back and I hope you and your friends get to see your hero sometime soon.
CRANE OVER THE CASE
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